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The Emory Law Student Bar Association has established the following bylaws and information for elections of officials and representatives.

Candidate Requirements

All candidates are expected to have read the Elections Code and to agree to abide by its terms. Please note that we are using the "first past the post" procedures and not the "ranked-choice voting" procedures.

All candidates must e-mail the Elections Justices at the appropriate time with the following statement:

"I, [your name here], agree to abide by the campaign rules set forth by the Student Bar Association subject to penalty by the Professional Conduct Court."

Candidates must also e-mail the justices to identify the offices they will seek.

Elections Officials

The election will be administered by the SBA president and the two Professional Conduct Court Justices.

Election Rules Generally

This webpage contains only some of the rules and regulations regarding campaigning. It is imperative that candidates read the Elections Code. Any violation of the code may result in disqualification.

Publicity

At an appropriate time, the Elections Officials will make available appropriate publicity tools (potentially including space on the SBA webpage) for candidates to advertise.

Election Code of the Emory Law Student Bar Association

PREAMBLE 

The purpose of the election code of the Student Bar Association is to ensure that students have the opportunity to hear the views of different candidates, examine the issues that affect Emory University School of Law, and permit a free and fair election.

ARTICLE I. TERM OF OFFICE

Members of the Student Bar Association and the Professional Conduct Court shall serve for a term of one year. The term of office ends at the time of spring commencement. 

ARTICLE II. QUALIFICATIONS TO SERVE

  1. Candidates shall be registered students at Emory University School of Law and must plan to be enrolled in courses at the law school during the entire academic year.
  2. No student shall hold more than one Student Bar Association or Professional Conduct Court office at any one time. 

ARTICLE III. GENERAL PROCEDURES

A. Elections for the Student Bar Association and Professional Conduct Court shall be administered by the two Professional Conduct Court Justices. The Student Bar Association President shall act as an advisor to the Professional Conduct Court Justices.

B. No Professional Conduct Court Justice shall participate in the administration of the election process if that Justice Court is a candidate in any Student Bar Association election.

C. In the event that no Professional Conduct Court Justice is able to administer the election process, the president may designate a member of the SBA to serve as the appointed elections administrator, subject to a majority vote of approval by the Student Bar Association Executive Board, so long as the member is not a candidate in any Student Bar Association election.

D. As appropriate, the Professional Conduct Court Justices shall:

  1. Set up the ballots and the voting system is in working order;
  2. Tabulate results; and
  3. Receive, investigate, and rule on any complaints or rule violations concerning the election.

E. Candidates may run for more than one position in any election round. Results shall be tabulated starting with the highest ranked position. Once a candidate is elected to a position, the candidate shall be ineligible for all other positions.

  1. Candidates choosing to run for more than one position may only choose a position as an Executive Officer OR on the Professional Conduct Court, AND a position as Class Representative (e.g., John Smith is running for President and 3L Representative; Jane Doe is running for Conduct Court Justice and 2L Representative).
  2. In the event of two positions won, the position of the Executive Officer or Professional Conduct Court takes priority over the position as Class Representative (e.g. John Smith wins President and 3L Representative, but takes the office of President; Jane wins Conduct Court Justice and 2L Representative, but takes the office of Conduct Court Justice). 

F. All elections shall:

  1. Be by secret ballot;
  2. Permit write-in candidates;
  3. Provide a “No Confidence” option;
  4. Remain open for at least two consecutive days. 

ARTICLE IV. ELECTION METHODS

SECTION 1. PLURALITY VOTING ELECTION METHOD

Elections shall be conducted using the modified plurality voting method. The modified plurality voting method is when each voter selects the candidate(s) they wish to win the election (or the choice of “No Confidence” if voters chose to abstain).

SECTION 2. PLURALITY VOTING PROCEDURES

A. Threshold for Victory

  1. Those candidates who receive at least the majority of votes shall be elected. Majority of votes constitutes over 50% of the total votes cast in that position’s election.

B. Process for Electing Class Representative and Professional Conduct Court Justice Positions

  1. After the first tally of the votes, all candidates running for the Class Representative and Professional Conduct Court Justice positions, who reach the threshold for victory, shall be declared the winners of their respective elections.
  2. If no candidate receives the threshold for victory, or the number of candidates receiving the threshold for victory does not reach the number of positions to be filled, then the candidates who have received the highest percentage of votes shall be declared elected.
  3. If “No Confidence” is elected to a position, only those candidates who receive the threshold for victory shall win.

C. Process for Electing All Other Positions

  1. After the first tally of the votes, all candidates running for positions other than Class Representative and Professional Conduct Court Justice, shall be deemed elected if they reach the threshold for victory.
  2. If no candidate receives the threshold for victory for a position, then the two candidates who receive the highest percentage of votes shall be the candidates in a run-off election for that position. The remaining candidates for that position will be eliminated from the election in order to conduct a run-off election among the two remaining candidates.
  3. After tallying the votes for the run-off election, the candidate who receives the highest percentage of votes shall be declared the winner (even if no candidate receives the threshold for victory).
  4. If “No Confidence” is elected to a position, no candidate shall be declared the winner for that position. 

ARTICLE V. POSITITIONS

SECTION 1. ELECTED POSITIONS: EXECUTIVE OFFICERS, REPRESENTATIVES, AND PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT COURT

A. Student Bar Association Board and the Professional Conduct Court shall be elected by all three classes during each spring semester following the procedures set forth in Article IV.

B. The Student Bar Association Board and the Professional Conduct Court consist of the President, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Vice President of Student Affairs, Vice President of Community Outreach, Vice President of Alumni Affairs, Vice President of Student Programming, Treasurer, Secretary, Conduct Court Justice, Student Prosecutor, Public Defender, Deputy Prosecutor, Deputy Public Defender, and Representative for their respective class (1L, 2L, 3L, AJD, LLM, JM, Transfer).

C. Student Bar Association Representatives shall be elected by their respective classes.

  1. During the spring semester the voting for the 2L, 3L, AJD, and JM Representative positions shall take place, following the procedures set forth in Article IV. Three class representatives for each of the rising 2L, 3L, AJD, and JM classes shall be elected.
  2. During the fall semester the voting for the 1L, LLM, and Transfer Representative positions shall take place, following the procedures set forth in Article IV. Three class representatives for 1L, LLM, and Transfer classes shall be elected.

D. If spring semester elections do not result in a position being filled, the position shall remain open until the fall elections. During the fall semester elections, elections shall be held for the open position(s) along with the 1L and Transfer Class Representative positions elections. If a vacancy remains after the fall semester elections, the President must nominate a candidate to serve for that open position, subject to a majority vote of approval of Student Bar Association Executive Board.

E. The Student Bar Association Board consists of the President, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Vice President of Student Affairs, Vice President of Community Outreach, Vice President of Alumni Affairs, Vice President of Student Programming, Treasurer, Secretary, and the Representatives for their respective class (1L, 2L, 3L, AJD, LLM, JM, Transfer).

F. The Student Bar Association Executive Board consists of the President, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Vice President of Student Affairs, Vice President of Community Outreach, Vice President of Alumni Affairs, Vice President of Student Programming, Treasurer, and Secretary.

SECTION 2. APPOINTED POSITIONS: NON-VOTING MEMBERS

A. After voting is complete for the elected positions found in Section 1 of Article V, the Student Bar Association President-Elect for the upcoming school year shall appoint the following positions (majority vote of approval of the Student Bar Association Executive Board is needed):

  1. Two Representatives to the Emory University Graduate Student Government Association;
  2. One Representative to the Emory University Senate;
  3. One Representative to the American Bar Association;
  4. One Marketing Representative; and
  5. Any other non-voting representative as deemed necessary by the Student Bar Association President.

ARTICLE VI. ELECTION RULES

A. Violations:

  1. Violations include offenses under the Election Code, Professional Code of Conduct, Honor Code, and all other codes, rules, policies, and regulations applicable to persons at Emory University.
  2. Final determination of any violation of these rules will be made by the Professional Conduct Court Justices, or the appointed elections administrator.
  3. Appropriate consequences for violations of the election rules shall be determined and implemented by the Professional Conduct Court Justices, or the appointed elections administrator.
  4. Violations, and potential consequences, by third parties will also be determined by the Professional Conduct Court Justices, or the appointed elections administrator.
  5. The consequence of disqualification shall be reserved for violations that place other candidates at a disadvantage.
  6. The Conduct Court Justices or the appointed elections administrator shall punish those that violate the election code; however, the Conduct Court Justices or the appointed elections administrator reserve the right not punish the violator if the Conduct Court Justices or the appointed elections administrator determine that the violation did not put other candidate(s) at a disadvantage.

B. The date for each round of elections shall be set by the President of the Student Bar Association and the Professional Conduct Court Justices, and shall be announced no less than three weeks prior to the elections.

C. In order to be included on the ballot as an official candidate, students must e-mail the Professional Conduct Court Justices (or the appointed administrator) by the deadline selected by the Justice (or administrator). The e-mail must contain the following information:

  1. The campaign statement: “I, [your name here], agree to abide by the election rules set forth by the Student Bar Association subject to penalty by the Professional Conduct Court Justices.”
  2. A statement that indicates the candidate’s desired position.
  3. A campaign statement of no more than 500 words that will be distributed electronically and/or on paper at the discretion of the Professional Conduct Court Justices (or the appointed administrator).
  4. An optional photo, showing only the candidate, no other persons.

D. The Professional Conduct Court Justices or the appointed elections administrator will determine when the start of campaigning shall begin. The Student Bar Association, in coordination with Professional Conduct Court Justices or appointed elections administrator, may set up election events to showcase the elections and candidate to the student body (e.g., candidate forum, tabling to promote voting, etc.).

E. A write-in candidate shall be subject to all of the election rules as an official candidate and may be disqualified from the elections at the discretion of the Professional Conduct Code Justices or the appointed elections administrator. A write-in candidate may not participate in the election events set up by the Student Bar Association (besides the election itself).

F. General Candidate Rules:

  1. Candidates may not send e-mails to any student at Emory Law regarding any subject of the elections.
  2. Candidates may use text messages, text message groups, or group messaging apps (e.g., GroupMe, etc.) to campaign.
  3. Each candidate may set up an online presence, including pages, events, or groups created on social networking sites.
  4. Candidates may not spend any money on their campaigns. Candidates may not receive any items as donations for their campaign, and candidates may not distribute any food, drink, or other items with the intent of garnering support for a candidacy.
  5. Campaigning on a ticket or creating materials that include more than one candidate’s name are prohibited.
  6. Candidates may campaign at student organization events and meetings per approval of the student organization president or other authorized personnel. However, candidates may not seek endorsements from a student organization.
  7. Candidates may make one flyer. The flyer shall only be printed and placed in the law school by the Professional Conduct Court Justices or appointed elections administrator. The flyer shall only consist of one 8.5-inch by 11-inch sheet of printer paper. The flyer should be sent to the Professional Conduct Court Justices or appointed elections administrator, in a DOC or PDF file, before the deadline of the Professional Conduct Court Justices choosing. No writings, material, or items of any kind may be placed in the law school regarding a candidate’s campaign by the candidate.
  8. Candidates, their friends or agents, and other third-parties may not campaign in any manner that violates the election code or rules.
  9. Orchestration of, participation in, or initiation of any in-class presentations, announcements, speeches, or stunts intended to generate support for a candidate are prohibited. “In-class” is defined as the time 15 minutes before and 15 minutes after the scheduled class time, as well as the scheduled class time.
  10. All campaigning shall cease at 11:59 p.m. on the day prior to the first day of voting in any election or run-off election, and campaigning may not take place during the voting days. The fliers posted by the Professional Conduct Court Justices or appointed elections administrator shall remain posted throughout the duration of the voting period. Any other campaign material, such as those on social media, may remain posted and open if the materials were posted or created during the campaign period. Encouraging voting in general, without specifying a particular candidate (or candidates) shall not be considered campaigning.

ARTICLE VII. AMENDMENTS

Amendments to the Election Code shall be made by a majority vote of approval of the Student Bar Association Board.

Rank-Choice Voting: What is it?

When you fill out the ballot, you will have the option of voting for your first, second, third, or fourth choice. You can rank as many (or as few) candidates as you wish. If a runoff is needed—meaning no candidate has the required majority of votes—then we can use this data to conduct an instantaneous runoff.

Instead of asking voters to vote a second time for their favorite candidate remaining, we look at the choices that the voters left on their ballot. If the voter's first choice remains, then his vote counts for his first choice. If the voter's first choice is not in the runoff, then his vote counts for his second choice.